News in Brief
Staff threatened
Waipa District Council HQ
A Waipā District Council staff member was recently threatened while at work. Details of the case were reported to the council’s Finance and Corporate committee this week by Human Resources operations manager Clark Collins.
“This incident was particularly concerning as the same individual had previously visited the staff member’s private residence uninvited.” The council has initiated a review of its personal security procedures for staff.
In another incident this year a contractor was verbally abused and threatened with a heavy object. Oolice were called.
Incidents of aggression towards staff are at a lower rate than previously but the two significant incidents highlight the challenges Waipā’s workforce faces, said the report. The council ran Coping with Customer Aggression by Debbie Schultz as part of its wellbeing support programme in April with practical tips on recovering after a distressing customer interaction.
Numbers up
It was a packed house at Te Awamutu Events Centre for a recent Te Awamutu College’s prize giving. Photo: Jeremy Smith
Record numbers of people – 275,234 up 15.6 per cent on the previous 12 months – went through Te Awamutu Events Centre in the financial year ended June 30. The stadium hosted 33 community events, up from 20 the previous year while monthly usage went up from 160 to 260 hours and occupancy up from 38 per cent to 61 per cent.
Pony club
The Pirongia branch of the Te Awamutu Pony Club has been granted a new five-year term at $180 a year to use 2.78ha of Conservation ministry land on Kakaramea Rd for horse riding and associated activities. Ngā Iwi Tōpū O Waipā, who were consulted about the renewal, told Waipā District Council it did not need to be included in any future lease renewals if the land was already leased to an existing tenant for recreational purposes.
Leases signed
The Te Awamutu AFC gazebo and its supporters survived the early morning weather conditions at the Waikato Junior 5-a-side tournament on Sunday. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Te Awamutu Association Football Club ($524) and Te Awamutu Athletic Club ($924) have signed new annual leases for five years each with Waipā District Council for land and buildings in Armstrong Ave and Swarbrick Dve. The leases, first signed in 2008, expired in September 2023. The leases note that Te Awamutu Sports Cycling Club – not a registered entity – owns a shed at the stadium in Armstrong Ave.
Sahara wins
Cambridge High School’s 2025 Ritchie Pickett Scholarship winner, Sahara Stanton. Photo: Steph Bell-Jenkins
Ōhaupō’s Sahara Stanton – who featured in The News in June when she won the 2025 Cambridge High School’s Ritchie Pickett Scholarship, has now won the solo-duo category of the Smokefreerockquest competition. The finals were held last week in Auckland.
Overdraft debate
Waipā District Council was to discuss behind closed doors at its Finance and Corporate committee meeting yesterday guaranteeing an overdraft for cash-strapped Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust. The trust, which forecast a $500,000 funding gap this financial year, aims to remove forever, or control, introduced mammalian pests and predators from Sanctuary Mountain and restore a healthy diversity of indigenous plants and animals to the mountain.
Rates arrears
Ratepayers owed Waipā District Council $2.1million in overdue 2024-25 rates at the end of last month – 92 per cent of the total rates’ bill – with $881,000 still owing from the previous year. Forty eight per cent of water rates – or $2.1 million from 525 properties – was still owing from the previous year.
Scott in charge
Consultant Kevan Scott is leading the Waipā waters transition team into Waikato Waters Ltd. The team plays a pivotal role in guiding the council through the change and shaping its future operations in a post-water services environment.
Māori appointment
Waipā District Council chief executive Steph O’Sullivan and Kaihautu – Strategic Māori Partnerships Director Ngira Simmonds
Ngira Simmonds (Ngāti Huri, Raukawa) has been appointed Waipā District Council’s new kaihautū – Strategic Māori Partnerships director. He most recently worked as chief of Staff and private secretary to the Māori Queen Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po having also served her father, the late Kingi Tūheitia. He has held senior leadership roles with the Māori Anglican Church, serves on the chief Ombudsman’s Advisory Board, and is currently completing his Master of Business Administration at the University of Waikato.
Armistice off
Lack of financial support has led to the charitable trust behind Armistice in Cambridge cancelling November’s two-day event at Lake Karāpiro. Since its debut in 2012, crowds of up to 10,000 people have flocked to the event – which costs organisers somewhere in the region of $80,000-$100,000 to stage.
Jamboree troops
Scouts Aotearoa Waikato Zone has appointed troop leaders of three Waikato troops heading to the 11-day 24th Aotearoa New Zealand Scout Jamboree at Mystery Creek next year. They hail from the Waikato’s three largest groups, Sam Hill from Cambridge, Chris Gardner from Kirikiriroa – and a journalist for The News – and St Peter’s and Victoria Bankers from Chartwell in Hamilton. Jamboree troops comprise 36 scouts supported by seven kaiarahi (leaders) including a troop leader.
Tavern back
The Tavern Film Premiere Producer/director Matt Hicks, centre, with Cambridge-based polo stars Bianca Drake and Kit Brooks who did the horse riding in the movie. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Cambridge-based director Matt Hicks’ film The Tavern will show at Te Awamutu’s Regent Theatre as part of the Misty Flicks Film Festivalnext month. The Tavern stars including New Zealand Idol winner Ben Lummis and former All Black Zac Guildford and was filmed at Cambridge’s Masonic, the Hautapu industrial area and The Stables.
